The WBO’s latest rankings update features four new fighters named as the number one contenders in their respective divisions.
Junior Middleweight: Tim Tszyu, 24-2 (17 KO), dropped from number one to number 10 after a three-round slam at the hands of IBF titleholder Bakhram Murtazaliev on October 19.
That led to Zayas, 20-0 (12 KO), moving up from third to number one on the strength of his decision win on Sept. 27 over unranked Damian Sosa. Zayas leapfrogged Josh Kelly. which is still the second
WBO junior-middleweight titleholder Sebastian Fundora, interim titleholder Terence Crawford, is ahead of Zayas in the line-up for the title.
In the flyweight division: Jonathan Gonzalez dropped from first to fourth after his October 14 fight against WBO title holder Anthony Olascuaga, which was initially ruled a “fight”. A “no contest” – due to Gonzalez suffering an injury caused by a head clash – was canceled and it turned out to be a first round TKO of Olascuaga.
–The Japanese Boxing Committee has decided that ringside doctors decided Gonzalez could continue. But Gonzalez announced he couldn’t continue shortly thereafter.)
That leaves the number one position vacant. And that means Sonny Edwards, who was previously in second place. Edwards, 21-1 (4 KOs), is fighting Galal Yafai, 8-0 (6 KOs), on November 30 for the WBC interim title, and the sanctioning body is not likely to rank it. A fighter who holds a belt from another organization.
In the Junior Flyweight division: The fight on October 13 for the vacant WBO title caused a change in the 108lb rankings. Shokichi Iwata, previously ranked number one, defeated Jairo Noriega, previously ranked number two, at the 108lbs. About the belt
Noriega is now completely absent from the list. All of this means that Regie Suganob 15-1 (5 KO), previously ranked third, has moved up to first.
At Strawweight: Masataka Taniguchi was 19-4 (13 KOs) in second place but moved up to first place. This was apparently due to Phai Prob’s knockout on October 13, even though Phra Rob was not ranked 105th and even though the fight took place at flyweight. Taniguchi has not fought at strawweight since losing his title to Melvin. Jerusalem in January 2023
Still, the WBO allowed a spot to trade Taniguchi for Victorio Saludar, 25-6 (15 knockouts), who is now ranked second.
The WBO title holder at 105 pounds is Oscar Collazo 10-0 (7 KO), who has a unification bout on November 16 against WBA Knockout title holder CP Freshmart 25-0 (9 KO).
WBO titleholders and top contenders in each weight class include:
Heavyweight: Oleksandr Usyk has the world title. Joseph Parker has the interim belt. Tyson Fury is the number one contender. Usyk and Fury are scheduled to rematch on December 21st.
Cruiser: Chris Billam-Smith has the world title, Michal Cieslak is his number one contender. Billam-Smith is scheduled to have a unification fight against WBA titleholder Gilberto Ramirez on November 16.
Light Heavyweight: Artur Beterbiev has the world title, Joshua Buatsi is the interim title holder, Anthony Yarde is the top contender.
Super Middleweight: Saul “Canelo” Alvarez holds the world title. Diego Pacheco is his number one competitor.
Middleweight: Janibek Alimkanuli wins world title, Hamzah Sheeraz is his number one competitor.
Junior Middleweight: Sebastian Fundora has the world title, Terence Crawford is the interim title holder, Xander Zayas is the top contender.
Welterweight: Brian Norman Jnr has a world title; Shakhram Giyasov is his number one competitor.
Junior Welterweight: Teofimo Lopez has the world title, Arnold Barboza is his number one competitor. Barboza is scheduled to face No. 4 seed Jose Ramirez on November 16.
Light weight: Denys Berinchyk has a global title; William Zepeda is his number one contender. Zepeda is scheduled to face Tevin Farmer on November 16th.
Junior Lightweight: Emmanuel Navarrete has world titleholder Oscar Valdez temporarily holding the title, with Charlie Suarez the top contender. Navarrete and Valdez are scheduled to rematch on December 7.
Featherweight: Rafael Espinoza has a world title; Robeisy Ramirez is his number one competitor. Espinoza and Ramirez are scheduled for a rematch on December 7.
Junior Featherweight Division: Naoya Inoue has the world title. Sam Goodman is his number one contender. Inoue and Goodman are scheduled to fight on December 24th.
Bantamweight: Yoshiki Takei has a world title; David Cuellar is his number one competitor.
Junior Bantamweight Division: Phumelele Kafu, world champion; Roman Gonzalez is his number one competitor.
Flyweight: Anthony Olascuaga has the world title; Sunny Edwards is his number one competitor.
Junior Flyweight: Shojiki Iwata has world titleholder Regie Suganob as his number one competitor.
Minimum weight: Oscar Collazo has a world title. Masataka Taniguchi is his number one contender. Collazo is scheduled to fight a unification bout against WBA Knockout title holder CP Freshmart on November 16th.
David Greisman, who has been covering boxing since 2004, is on Twitter. @FightingWords2 and @United BoxingPod– He is a co-host of United Podcast– David’s bookFighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing” Available on Amazon
